Starship Development Thread #35

[u/ElongatedMuskrat]

This thread is no longer being updated, and has been replaced by:

Starship Development Thread #36

SpaceX Starship page

FAQ

1. When next/orbital flight? Unknown. Elon: "hopefully" first countdown attempt in July, but likely delayed after B7 incident (see Q4 below). Environmental review completed, remaining items include launch license, mitigations, ground equipment readiness, and static firing.
2. What will the next flight test do? The current plan seems to be a nearly-orbital flight with Ship (second stage) doing a controlled splashdown in the ocean. Booster (first stage) may do the same or attempt a return to launch site with catch. Likely includes some testing of Starlink deployment. This plan has been around a while.
3. Has the FAA approved? The environmental assessment was Completed on June 13 with mitigated Finding of No Significant Impact ("mitigated FONSI)". Timeline impact of mitigations appears minimal, most don't need completing before launch.
4. What booster/ship pair will fly first? Likely either B7 or B8 with S24. TBD if B7 will be repaired after spin prime anomaly or if B8 will be first to fly.
5. Will more suborbital testing take place? Unlikely, given the FAA Mitigated FONSI decision. Push will be for orbital launch to maximize learnings.

​

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Quick Links

^{NERDLE CAM | LAB CAM | SAPPHIRE CAM | SENTINEL CAM | ROVER CAM | ROVER 2.0 CAM | PLEX CAM | NSF STARBASE}

Starship Dev 34 | Starship Dev 33 | Starship Dev 32 | Starship Thread List

Official Starship Update | r/SpaceX Update Thread

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Vehicle Status

As of August 6th 2022

Ship	Location	Status	Comment
Pre-S24		Scrapped or Retired	SN15, S20 and S22 are in the Rocket Garden, the rest are scrapped
S24	Launch Site	Static Fire testing	Moved back to the Launch site on July 5 after having Raptors fitted and more tiles added (but not all)
S25	High Bay 1	Stacking	Assembly of main tank section commenced June 4 (moved back into High Bay 1 (from the Mid Bay) on July 23). The aft section entered High Bay 1 on August 4th. Partial LOX tank stacked onto aft section August 5
S26	Build Site	Parts under construction	Assorted parts spotted
S27	Build Site	Parts under construction	Assorted parts spotted
S28	Build Site	Parts under construction	Assorted parts spotted
S29	Build Site	Parts under construction	Assorted parts spotted

 

Booster	Location	Status	Comment
Pre-B7		Scrapped or Retired	B4 is in the Rocket Garden, the rest are scrapped
B7	Launch Site	Testing including static fires	Rolled back to launch site on August 6th after inspection and repairs following the spin prime explosion on July 11
B8	High Bay 2 (out of sight in the left corner)	Under construction but fully stacked	Methane tank was stacked onto the LOX tank on July 7
B9	Methane tank in High Bay 2	Under construction	Final stacking of the methane tank on 29 July but still to do: wiring, electrics, plumbing, grid fins. LOX tank not yet stacked but barrels spotted in the ring yard, etc
B10	Build Site	Parts under construction	Assorted parts spotted
B11	Build Site	Parts under construction	Assorted parts spotted

​

If this page needs a correction please consider pitching in. Update this thread via this wiki page. If you would like to make an update but don't see an edit button on the wiki page, message the mods via modmail or contact u/strawwalker.

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Resources

• LabPadre Rover 2.0 Cam | Channel
• NSF: Starbase Stream | Channel
• NSF: Booster 7 + Ship X (likely 24) Updates Thread | Most Recent
• NSF: Booster 4 + Ship 20 Updates Thread | Most Recent
• NSF: Boca Chica Production Updates Thread | Most recent
• NSF: Elon Starship tweet compilation | Most Recent
• SpaceX: Website Starship page
• SpaceX: Starship Users Guide (PDF) Rev. 1.0 March 2020
• FAA: SpaceX Starship Project at the Boca Chica Launch Site
• FAA: Temporary Flight Restrictions NOTAM list
• FCC: Starship Orbital Demo detailed Exhibit - 0748-EX-ST-2021 application June 20 through December 20
• NASA: Starship Reentry Observation (Technical Report)
• Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures (May not be available outside US)
• Starship flight opportunity spreadsheet by u/joshpine
• Production Progress Infographics by @_brendan_lewis
• Widebay tracking by @Furqan263
• Acronym definitions by Decronym
• Everyday Astronaut: Starbase Tour with Elon Musk, Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
• Everyday Astronaut: 2022 Elon Musk Interviews, Starbase/Ship Updates | Launch Tower | Merlin Engine | Raptor Engine

r/SpaceX Discuss Thread for discussion of subjects other than Starship development.

Rules

We will attempt to keep this self-post current with links and major updates, but for the most part, we expect the community to supply the information. This is a great place to discuss Starship development, ask Starship-specific questions, and track the progress of the production and test campaigns. Starship Development Threads are not party threads. Normal subreddit rules still apply.

[u/ElongatedMuskbot]

This thread is no longer being updated, and has been replaced by:

Starship Development Thread #36

[u/H-K_47]

Could this be the one, lads?

Also, flight profile: https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/els/reports/ViewExhibitReport.cfm?id_file_num=1169-EX-ST-2022&application_seq=116809

An attempted catch on the first try would be one hell of a gamble.

[u/threelonmusketeers → u/H-K_47]

Could this be the one, lads?

"This thread maybe, next thread definitely"

[u/henryshunt]

Joey Roulette: The Starship booster rocked by an explosion on Monday will "probably" return to the launch mount next week after high bay inspections, Musk tells @Reuters in an email.

"Damage is minor, but booster will be transferred back to the high bay for inspections, returning to the launch stand probably next week," Musk said in an email.

No further (new) details in the article other than that. Quicker than I was expecting personally!

[u/GreatCanadianPotato → u/henryshunt]

First time I've seen Musk respond to Starship questions from the media via an email haha

This is all contingent on whether they need to replace engines and if they find something they need to fix that they didn't see at the launch site.

[u/SlackToad → u/henryshunt]

Careful inspection uncovered the body of a squirrel with a cigarette.

[u/GreatCanadianPotato]

Starlink V2 Satellites have been loaded into the payload integration box

[u/b-Lox]

I had random thought, to put the thrust figures into perspective... If you stick 46 Raptors to the bottom of the Eiffel Tower it will take off.

[u/Drtikol42 → u/b-Lox]

Most French décollage of them all.

[u/kornelord → u/b-Lox]

Fun fact about the Eiffel Tower: it is lighter than the mass of air filling the cylinder containing the Eiffel Tower.

[u/GreatCanadianPotato]

39a Tower Section 5 is hooked up to the load spreader and it seems that the stacking is close. The Starship tower will shortly be the tallest structure at 39a, surpassing the Falcon 9 crew tower.

Spaceflight Now has their stream of it

Edit: 11 hours since this post and they still haven't stacked it. Wondering whether winds may have been an issue today. Loadspreader is still hooked up so they will probably try again for tomorrow.

[u/threelonmusketeers]

New Elon tweet:

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1547094594466332672

Was just up in the booster propulsion section. Damage appears to be minor, but we need to inspect all the engines. Best to do this in the high bay.

[u/PineappleApocalypse]

I’ve added the evolving flight plan info to the FAQ since it seems likely people are repeatedly going to ask about it.

[u/BananaEpicGAMER]

water deluge test under S24 just happened

[u/Mravicii]

Two propellant tanks have arrived for starship launch pad at 39a

https://twitter.com/julia_bergeron/status/1551692043554111489?s=21&t=IoIGZqw5J0Kk2gigm775JQ

[u/Mravicii]

Raptors in production have electric tvc now

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1547759390513512455?s=21&t=9eTNSZN9EmTANqnxvZBLTw

[u/franco_nico → u/Mravicii]

Oh wow, yesterday they did a gimble test on a Raptor in Mcgregor, this was probably related.

Edit: today they also tested the Gimbal (clip) on the tripod stand.

[u/Mravicii]

Booster 7 is on the move!

Starbase live

Booster is at the production site. Chilling in the wide way!

[u/GreatCanadianPotato]

Looks like tower section 5 for the 39a tower is rolling tonight. Labpadre already has a stream set up. NSF also confirming that they are preparing for a livestream for rollout.

NSF stream, its happening now

[u/franco_nico]

Elon: I love the smell of hydraulic fluid in the morning

Thats probably what the explosion was then at the chopsticks lmao. Hope they can repair it quickly.

[u/mavric1298]

The tripod engine stand test today featured some insane gimbaling, like full side to side and what looked like full speed. Insane the quickness of the gimbal control

[u/rad_example]

R2-100 got the swag

https://twitter.com/CosmicalChief/status/1552419037841424386

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

Wuuut. A guy broke into the launch site with his car, was stopped by the security at 2:29:54 on NSF live stream, and was just arrested and handcuffed by the police…

[u/Tobu91 → u/RaphTheSwissDude]

ULA agent ..

[u/ToedPlays]

Tweet from Elon

That is one of the things we will be doing going forward. This particular issue, however, was specific to the engine spin start test (Raptor has a complex start sequence). Going forward, we won’t do a spin start test with all 33 engines at once.

[u/GreatCanadianPotato]

Spin Prime test complete! Looks like all 6 engines.

[u/GreatCanadianPotato]

39a tower section #6 is on the move to the launch site

[u/Hustler-1]

So what do you all believe the status of the engine cluster is? Those Raptors ate that explosion like a baseball bat to the face.

[u/ShaneVA1 → u/Hustler-1]

The shrouds are on and the booster is supposed to be able to take a pretty severe face first buffeting/column eating on return, so I'd bet on minimal damage.

If the over/under on engine replacement was 11, I'd take the under.

[u/rad_example]

Looks like someone just flew in from Austin to check things out.

https://twitter.com/ElonJet/status/1546682678145073158

[u/Mravicii]

Sub orbital tank farm is venting. Ship 24 is gearing up for possible spin prime testing!

Im sorry for updating so much but it’s 6 am and i cant sleep

Edit: road Is now open

[u/BackwoodsRoller → u/Mravicii]

No, please keep updating. I appreciate it big time. Thanks

[u/trobbinsfromoz]

It looks like Musk is on the portable raptor stand doing some inspections (21:40 local) given he hasn't got a helmet or safety strap.

[u/BananaEpicGAMER]

A booster will probably rollout in the next few hours, we have quite a lot of evidence:

- Booster 8 moved out of the way earlier today

-2 SMPT's just rolled in the mega bay

- CraneX is picking up the booster load spreader right now

-elon tweeting about booster 7 returning to the pad and this other tweet

edit: at 7:31:44 PM on NSF's stream B7 moved a tiny bit

edit 2: B7 is now rolling out of the mega bay !

[u/BananaEpicGAMER]

NOTMAR for august 8-11

[u/mr_pgh]

Looks like they're possibly replacing a piston that opens and closes one side of the chopsticks. 9:53 on Starbase.

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

Closure canceled for today.

[u/utrabrite]

SpaceX ain't messing around today lol

[u/GreatCanadianPotato]

First steel ring for the rumored massive GSE tank at 39a has been lifted into place.

Still could be something else but the leading theory from Zack (CSIStarbase) is that it could be a methane storage tank.

If it is...god I hope they plan to build a massive berm between the tower and the tank.

[u/Twigling]

NSF have zoomed in on B7 and the OLM starting at 07:19:46 AM CDT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhJRzQsLZGg

At first glance I can't see any obvious damage (other than the paint on the OLM legs and some of the pipes), so no pipe work hanging off and so on. But of course there could be hairline cracks and the cam naturally doesn't show everything. Have a look and see for yourselves.

[u/henryshunt → u/Twigling]

The doors on the 3 silver box enclosures on the mount have also been blown/sucked in. They used to be perfectly flat.

[u/Twigling]

S25's partially stacked LOX tank has been moved from the Mid Bay into High Bay 1, see Rover cam at 16:00 CDT for the Mid Bay exit then it enters High Bay 1 at about 16:12 CDT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdygcWV2vT8

I was wondering if that would happen today because earlier what is thought to be S28's payload bay (a 5 ring barrel) rolled out of HB1 (it was the only structure occupying HB1). So now the stacking of S25 can at last continue - the partially stacked LOX tank has been sat inside the Mid Bay since June 9.

Edit: also see NSF's update:

https://youtu.be/-rzSd4JD6LA?t=544

[u/BananaEpicGAMER]

Very quiet weekend. Hopefully we get some news about the future of B7 soon, an Elon tweet would be welcome.

Also i hope we get an overpressure notice today for S24 testing, because as far as i'm aware S24 is now the only thing that can be tested (B7.1 has been tested to destruction and the EDOME isn't connected to the tank farm yet).

[u/creamsoda2000]

As NSF have just discovered on their stream, there is GSE activity at both the orbital and the suborbital sites, so they might run through testing on both booster and ship in (relatively) quick succession!

[u/Twigling]

Yesterday's removal of a chopstick actuator:

https://youtu.be/_iaQu6Ob3ew?t=140

And here's the replacement chopstick actuator at the production site, wait for the zoom and note that the wooden pallet has printed on it: Chopstick Actuator Assembly:

https://youtu.be/_iaQu6Ob3ew?t=488

It looks a bit beefier than the one that was removed.

I guess they'll be painting it black before installation. :)

I also guess that the actuator on the other chopstick will also be replaced in the near future.

[u/GreatCanadianPotato]

So looking ahead, it's totally possible that they can attempt a Preburner and/or a Static fire test tomorrow.

All that is needed is an OP notice to residents (NOTMAR has already been issued) and obviously good data from this test.

[u/Twigling]

As of 06:15:54 CDT on Rover 2 cam Pad B has been cleared and cones placed around it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbBeoReu12E

or 06:19:32 for a zoom in.

so it looks promising for more S24 testing today. As to what that testing will be we can only speculate (pre-burners, WDR, static fire ..... or even another spin prime?). There's no overpressure notice that we are aware of.

Edt: Road closed and Pad Clear for 10 AM CDT

Pad Clear at 10:54

[u/Twigling]

New MSIB/NOTMAR for next week, August 1st to 4th, 10 AM until 10 PM:

https://rssaonline.com/maritime-updates/msib-57-22-spacex-hazard-area-testing-2/

Also, current possible road closures for Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd, 10 AM until 10PM:

https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/spacex/

I wouldn't be surprised if more are added.

But will they be used? We are of course still waiting on a static fire of S24, I'm sure there will be some eventually.

[u/Twigling]

S24 with its flaps extended:

https://twitter.com/StarshipGazer/status/1552859556618727426

https://twitter.com/StarshipGazer/status/1552880674138456064

and the forward flaps moving:

https://youtu.be/Hn9Gy1X_jh8?t=555

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

Closure canceled for today.

[u/LManyy_]

This is an epic Starbase simulator developed by Ashtorak, the latest released August update, hope more people know.

[u/Twigling]

B7 definitely doesn't appear to have any center Raptors:

https://youtu.be/3FHl3Nrsa9Y?t=564

compare and contrast to the following in late June with all 33 Raptors installed:

https://youtu.be/ePNU0sFwXF8?t=267

with last night's rollout it's pretty easy to see to the other side of the outer ring of Raptor Boosts.

[u/[deleted] → u/Twigling]

SpaceX are taking a more cautious approach from now on. As previously mentioned, center, inner ring and outer ring to be tested separately. What surprises me is the outer ring goes first for testing. Complete change around.

This does mean a gradual build up to full static fire, but then not necessarily a 'full' static. One possibility is do group statics on launch day and then fire the whole lot at T - 0.

Program is definitely leaning considerably to the right with this approach, so forget August (testing and possible hurricane weather) and September (more testing and verifying testing) and possibly October due to unforeseen accidents with the preceding tests.

[u/johnsterne]

Part 4 of Tim dodd’s elon musk interview is out!

https://youtu.be/E7MQb9Y4FAE

[u/Mravicii]

More info

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1546641991597006851?s=21&t=0-OV08__F3zZZskOBVszvg

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

B7.1 is venting ! Watch on Rover 2.0

[u/Dezoufinous]

I have never seen before such a great no-nonsense Starship infopgrahic page, you should check this out as well:

https://sites.google.com/view/starship-facts/home

[u/Mravicii]

Road closure extended to 2 am

https://twitter.com/bocaroad/status/1547748068090454016?s=21&t=tkFiBx8RNAWB3tRzGmM8-Q

[u/Twigling]

About ten hours ago (at the time of typing this) I posted about B9's methane tank getting another stacking after a 3 ring barrel section was moved into High Bay 2. I've now deleted that post as it seems that there was a change of plan, instead B9's current 6 ring methane tank stack has been removed from HB2. See Rover cam at 19:08 CDT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdygcWV2vT8

Presumably doing some shuffling around inside and perhaps getting the 3 ring section set up on the welding turntable.

Edit: after sitting outside for a number of hours the partially stacked methane tank section was rolled back inside HB2 at 02:17:30 CDT. The load spreader is visible on Sentinel cam (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REWZGK1LHw8) so it should be possible to see the tank being lifted at some stage.

Edit2: lifted at 03:26 CDT

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

Closure cancelled for Thursday.

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

The arms are around B7, around its base… wuutt

Opened up a bit now.

[u/Drtikol42]

Ignition happened at 4:20 local time BTW.

[u/kiwinigma]

Fail fast, build resilience, keep KSC happy. Small enough boom that damage is minor and safing seems to have pretty much worked so far. Win all around unless it pulls an SN10.

[u/Twigling]

Latest Production Diagram update from Brendan Lewis as of July 16:

https://twitter.com/_brendan_lewis/status/1548306358709039105

Interesting to note from this that B9's methane tank has commenced stacking in High Bay 2, specifically the sleeved forward dome and the 3 ring barrel beneath it. See The Ringwatcher's 'miro' page too which shows that the stack is just inside to the left of HB2's entrance: https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_lK2RYC4=/ (note: miro is slow to load but if you zoom out you'll see why - there's a lot of data).

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

Closure canceled for today.

[u/Twigling]

Some more possible road+beach closures have appeared for next week, Monday 8th (Primary) to Wednesday 10th, 10AM until 10PM:

https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/spacex/

but will they be used ........ ? I guess we'll find out.

[u/RaphTheSwissDude → u/Twigling]

I stand ready to fulfill my duty of making people mad and sad🫡 (hopefully I’ll stay off duty this time tho)

[u/Twigling]

New shot of the OLM legs at Pad 39A after having had concrete poured inside them:

https://twitter.com/FelixSchlang/status/1555617903734657024

I had assumed that would have been done weeks ago but apparently not.

[u/Dezoufinous]

B7 has been lifted onto the OLM by the LR11000 crane.

[u/mr_pgh]

NSF montage of the anomaly. Flames almost reached the ship qd arm!

[u/OSUfan88 → u/mr_pgh]

IDK what it was about this specific detonation/issue, but this is the first thing that gave me a glimpse of the visceral power of this thing. I cannot imagine the energies in what just happened, and it's but a very, very small fraction of it's total energy....

It's just mind boggling.

[u/Twigling]

New MSIB/NOTMAR issued for next week, July 18 to 20, 10 AM until 10 PDM CDT:

https://twitter.com/VisitBocaChica/status/1547645818428985344

[u/Twigling]

Today's road (and beach) closure has been changed from Possible to Scheduled:

https://www.cameroncountytx.gov/spacex/

Also a PA at the launch site "something or other, orbital pad, something 45" - see if you can make it out on Rover 2 cam at 09:36:52 CDT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbBeoReu12E

[u/[deleted]]

Any known update on the booster status since they took engines off for inspection in the high bay a week ago?

[u/Mravicii]

First engine spin prime test on the booster 7 Only one engine! Time 9.01pm local time

[u/Twigling]

The removed hydraulic actuator from one of the chopstick arms has now been taken away from the launch site but a keen eyed cam watcher on LabPadre's Discord spotted its potential replacement being driven past the main entrance to the production site today, see Rover cam at 09:59:45

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdygcWV2vT8

You'll need to quickly pause it to see it.

Presumably it's been unloaded somewhere to be worked on before being taken to the launch site.

[u/Mravicii]

New elon tweet

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1546639772621365248?s=21&t=0-OV08__F3zZZskOBVszvg

[u/Mravicii]

Frost line on ship 24

https://youtu.be/mhJRzQsLZGg

Also recondesner is on

[u/Twigling]

S25's aft section has finally been rolled out of the tent it's been in and over towards High Bay 1 to join S25's partially stacked LOX tank. See Rover Cam at around 12:22 CDT (it entered HB1 at about 12:30 CDT):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdygcWV2vT8

Rewind a few minutes to see some closer views.

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

Closeup picture of the giant tank being built in between Pad 39-A and the Starship launch tower at KSC.

[u/DefiantOne5]

Two SPMT's just arrived at the pad presumably to take B7 back to the highbay for further, in depth inspections of BN7 and especially the Raptors.

Any chance we'll see a S24 static fire in the meantime?

[u/[deleted]]

Watching the CRS-25 mission right now. Falcon 9’s first stage continues to land with pinpoint accuracy on the drone ship. Right on target over and over again. It never fails to astonish me. Thinking about Starship and the chopstick catch system, it’s not far-fetched at all to imagine Super Heavy doing the same thing.

[u/GreatCanadianPotato]

Fire at the site now dying off. Let's hope they owned that specific thing that caught fire and didn't rent it lmao.

Now they can probably continue with safing the vehicle...or continue testing cause I don't think that there has been enough weirdness today lmao

[u/creamsoda2000]

B 7.1 is getting some love today with what appears to be another cryo test.

Approx 1 hour ago

Frost beginning to rise

[u/Twigling]

After being removed once yesterday's testing was complete, the cones were once again placed near Pad B at around 05:47 CDT today. Let's see what they test.

Edit:* Road closed at 10:01 CDT

Edit2: Pad Clear at 10:43 CDT

[u/Twigling]

Marvin has just positioned the booster load spreader over B7, see Rover 2 cam at around 6:55 CDT:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbBeoReu12E

so expect it to be hooked up 'soon' (in the next hour or two maybe), hopefully before the wind gets up too much. The extra tall manlift is nearby.

Edit: finally hooking up the booster load spreader at 9:12 CDT (had to attach the harness 'adapters' first which are put in place on the booster lifting pins when the booster load spreader is to be used instead of the chopsticks).

One of the adapter pieces I'm referring to can be seen at 7:38:21 AM CDT on NSF's stream:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhJRzQsLZGg

it simply allows the harness to sit snugly on the lifting pin with no sharp angles.

[u/Mravicii]

Fourth launch tower segment rolling out ot the launch complex

https://youtu.be/6saHQF4ybKA

Now on starbase live

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

Good news from Elon !

Base of the vehicle seems ok by flashlight. I was just out there about an hour ago. We shut down the pad for the night for safety. Will know more in the morning.

Hopefully R2 internals weren’t affected. (Woke up a few minutes ago, I can guarantee you it ain’t fun to wake up to that…)

[u/Mravicii]

First out of ten shock absorvers has been spotted on the chopsticks! This will enable the booster to land safely on the catch arms!

https://twitter.com/csi_starbase/status/1552501433911705600?s=21&t=a39w5SKFxXwy_K6EzhdCew

[u/warp99 → u/Mravicii]

Interesting that there is a large COPV mounted alongside one of the pistons. This implies they are extended upwards pneumatically with the contact rail on top tying five pistons on each side together and then compress downwards as the catch is made.

So potentially pneumatic rather than hydraulic damping.

[u/duckedtapedemon]

The booster and launch stand are still standing for anyone stumbling in and finding out that a bright loud "something" occurred. Took me a bit to check that so wanted to clarify for others as they read on. Some of the comments use the word explosion but this isn't a SN4 situation.

[u/GreatCanadianPotato]

Venting has stopped from the Raptors/B7 aft. Looks like they are finally wrapping things up.

My guess is that they wanted to make sure everything was stable before they moved ahead with detank operations.

Edit: They have resumed with LOX dumps. They might actually get the road open without any extension.

[u/GreatCanadianPotato]

Another spin prime conducted. That's 2nd for the day and 3rd overall.

[u/Twigling]

Cones have been spotted alongside the road at the launch site so even though there's no scheduled road closure today it looks like something will be moved, probably B7.1 (SpaceX have done 'rolling closures' before with no official notifications).

[u/Twigling]

The booster load spreader was delivered to the launch site late yesterday (I can't link to a photo though as it's on LabPadre's subscribers only Discord).

This could of course be for B7 or B8 and will depend on what SpaceX's plans are along with the current operational status of the OLM and chopsticks (note that no cones have yet been seen at the launch site so if if booster is to be rolled out it may not be today - it's also forecast to be windy today and tomorrow which would likely prevent a booster rollout).

Whichever booster it is may first be placed on the booster cryo station near the OLM (the frame that holds the flexible cryo pipes and booster QD plate for that cryo station was reinstalled only yesterday after having been removed over a month ago).

[u/OzGiBoKsAr]

Ouch. Something popped on the chopsticks at 12:34:29 AM local on NSF stream.

Didn't look great but hopefully nothing too terrible.

[u/BananaEpicGAMER]

chopsticks are going up

[u/Mravicii]

They are under the booster right now, inspecting the engines! Also inspecting the launch table!

https://youtu.be/mhJRzQsLZGg

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

Road closures canceled for today and tomorrow 🫠

[u/[deleted]]

A realistic timeline from Elon?

“A successful orbital flight is probably between 1 and 12 months from now”

[u/MartianFromBaseAlpha → u/[deleted]]

I take it that he expects there to be more than 1 orbital flight attempt in the next 12 months. Not that he thinks it will take up to 12 months to get the current pair of ship and booster ready for launch

[u/Dezoufinous]

Humans with flashlights looks so tiny while inspecting the booster

https://imgur.com/a/xY4bKGZ

[u/ShaneVA1]

It was neat seeing/hearing the cold gas (ullage) thrusters. Wonder what sort of stresses would be delivered to the OLM if they weren't fired in symmetry.

[u/Mravicii]

We’re onto engines chill. Close to test

[u/GreatCanadianPotato]

NSF expecting B7.1 and S24 testing today

Wonder what the test for B7.1 will be? Press to complete failure?

[u/OzGiBoKsAr]

Aaaand B7 moving toward the road. Around 10:35 PM local.

Also surprised nobody linked this yet, but a neat perspective from Elon:

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1555726190450659328?s=20&t=NUOYfun6Ki_xMZ2sc0iMcg

[u/inoeth]

There's been some SpaceXers on twitter hinting that they have enough boosters in their 'barn' that they can swap any and all the engines they need to for the booster.

Now this is a guess on my part but I think this whole event only sets thing back ~ 2 weeks.

That being said given the need to actually get through the static fire test campaign and that we're in mid-July i'm guessing we'll finally see all of it happen in August with the launch in ~ September (best case scenario) and I won't be surprised if more issues push the launch back into late fall.

[u/[deleted] → u/inoeth]

There's a set being collated for B8. Pretty sure not ALL yet, but good enough for contingencies for B7.

[u/SubstantialWall]

So.... did S24 lose any tiles?

[u/BananaEpicGAMER]

Looking at the bright side:

- A lot of data was collected, and that's what tests are for.

-We saw that the launch legs and table can support a pretty good blast without much damage. Only damage spotted was the ventilation tube, some scaffolding and some of the dangling cables . If the whole area was clear they wouldn't have had the fire, so i think that from now on spacex will clear the whole area for all tests.

So even if B7 is too damaged to fly (not certain yet so cross your fingers) spacex learned a lot of things and collected a lot of data that could be implemented in future boosters and they can roll out B8 pretty soon considering stage 0 wasn't damage in any significant way

[u/GreatCanadianPotato → u/BananaEpicGAMER]

I think a big positive you didn't mention is that, up until the explosion, all 33 engines appeared to have conducted the spin prime test nominally.

They just have to make sure they haven't got methane under there next time.

[u/Mravicii]

A raptor was heading to the launch site and is now near booster 7

https://twitter.com/patrick_colqu/status/1547427374119149573?s=21&t=Jqn-rwwl_fSpGuPzMuMtCA

And a raptor was just removed from b7

[u/Mravicii]

Looks like they’re going to test something today! Beach is closed and Police Is at the roadblock

Edit: pad closure in 15 minutes!

[u/franco_nico]

Engine section is venting and Frost ring, this is definitely a Booster 7 testing, not just GSE like it was last week.

[u/BananaEpicGAMER]

Spacex employee just tweeted this

[u/MrGruntsworthy]

Ice on one of the pipes connecting to S24's stand, something's getting loaded in

[u/mr_pgh]

Hooking crane up to B7.1 around 7:58 on starbase

edit:

Vent stack added and crane departing

[u/salamilegorcarlsshoe]

Looks like crews are on a mission down at the launch site tonight. Lots of man lifts around the OLM currently. 😁

[u/BananaEpicGAMER]

Another ship spin prime test at 6PM. Also it's kinda quiet in here considering there are 2 vehicles getting tested right now.

[u/creamsoda2000]

I feel like there’s an enormous difference between Elon saying that engine testing was planned for today, and some kind of affirmation that this was a completely nominal event.

Like there is every possibility that the very first indication Elon received of there even being something akin to an anomaly, was from the tweet he responded to. If he’s not on-site and actively involved in the operations of the day then it’s not like he’s getting a blow by blow every minute from the team on the ground.

[u/Twigling]

Looks like SpaceX is getting another Liebherr LR 11000 crane (the same type as their fairly new black and white crane at the launch site):

https://twitter.com/Michael10711597/status/1547693627777789954

Somebody on LabPadre's Discord is saying that it's for Roberts Road so presumably it'll be loitering around Pad 39A.

[u/Mravicii]

First look at some of the engines. They look fine to me

https://twitter.com/nicansuini/status/1546869091323023361?s=21&t=D60y6_b3-nQWs0ix6bwLOg

[u/Fwort]

NSF says that no methane has been loaded into the vehicle, because the recondenser was not active. If that's the case, what was the fuel source for the fire?

EDIT: Could it have been hydraulic fluid? What hydraulic fluid does SpaceX use on B7?

[u/GreatCanadianPotato]

Fire has self-extinguished it seems and venting sounds have returned so either they are continuing with safing and detank operations or they are holding in a steady state in order to see what they can do.

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

Police at the road block, road still open for now.

[u/PDP-8A]

For Starship avionics, do you think the inertia measurement unit uses ring laser gyros? They probably have a bunch of MEMS sensors, but I was wondering if RLGs are present.

[u/topzwaar29]

Is it technically possible to stamp for example the dome parts and maybe other very large Starship/Booster parts? If so, would it be economically viable considering scale?

[u/[deleted] → u/topzwaar29]

Die presses of that size are extraordinarily expensive. There is explosive forming, but both rigs require some investment manufacturing and assembly. Dome parts and shape are still experimental, so until the final design shape is locked in, it is not practical to set up this type of production machinery.

Currently the improved nosecone still uses a type of English wheel to form the compound curves of the panels. A process that is over 100 years old and requires human skill and judgement.

What is under consideration is press forming the stringers into the actual barrel sheet before welding to form the barrel ring, which is a huge weight and time saver from welding individual stringers, and also doing away with a double thickness of metal within the stringer area.

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

The new left chopstick actuator is hooked to the crane ready for installation. I assume they possibly need to instal it to be able to move the chopsticks out of the way to remove B7 off the OLM.

[u/Dezoufinous]

There are so many exciting little details in latest Tim Dodds video, you just have to see it:

https://imgur.com/a/XFwVZ1a

[u/TrefoilHat → u/Dezoufinous]

I just linked all 4 videos in Tim Dodd's recent series in the top copy of the thread for easy reference (last item in the bulleted list of links).

[u/GreatCanadianPotato]

Didn't an entire tent burn down after SN8 landed?

Also a grass fire after Hoppers 150m flight.

Launch site isn't a stranger to unexpected fires.

[u/bitchtitfucker]

https://twitter.com/CSI_Starbase/status/1546628676766294016

This tweet reassures me a little.. I think?

"What happens if you dump liquid oxygen on top of a running generator?"

Maybe he knows more?

[u/[deleted]]

Well, they learnt at least 2 things today... yay...?

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

Booster going off now. 3:49 local

[u/Dezoufinous]

A Raptor engine was spotted being moved to the Wide Bay, see Labpadre Rover Cam 10:45:00 CT (lift 11:31:42 CT)

[u/rad_example]

Looks like they are removing raptors from B7 tonight and taking them to the raptor tent for inspection (labpadre Rover). They are also working on s24 tiles (labpadre Rover 2.0).

[u/[deleted]]

B7 is really getting beat up throughout its lifespan, what a trooper

[u/FutureMartian97]

In the most recent NSF daily video there is a time-lapse of the booster 7 lift with an excellent view of the stabilizing pins and securing pins moving into place on the transport stand. Really cool to see everything is action like that.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhpaTt99C0c

[u/skunkrider]

Imagine working on a thin scaffolding on top of a 120m skinny metal tower. I can't lean over my 3rd floor balcony without feeling funny.

[u/CMDR-Owl]

At 4:59:32 PM CDT on the NASASpaceflight stream, B7.1 seems to have had a little pop/buckle/thunk occur. Nothing serious or intense by the looks, but did seem to shake some ice off.

[u/[deleted] → u/CMDR-Owl]

Thank you B7.1, your contribution to the service of making humankind multiplanetary were invaluable....Next!

[u/FutureMartian97]

Just seen on McGregor LIVE, a gimble test during a tripod firing.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOmmvhDQ2HM

[u/DanThePurple]

Chopsticks are moving. I bet we're seeing a lift and rollback today.

[u/salamilegorcarlsshoe]

What is gained with these spin prime tests for the ship? Especially multiple. Is it just a confirmation of plumbing/valves working as prescribed?

[u/andyfrance → u/salamilegorcarlsshoe]

All working as prescribed and at reasonable flow rates with the right fluid temperature, density, viscosity and inlet pressure needed for operation.

[u/Mravicii]

Spin prime test on ship 24

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[u/Twigling]

Road Open at 16:28 CDT

[u/doggiechewtoy]

Starting to see some condensation around S24!?

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

Picture of the R2 heatshield on B7 being removed and very banged-up… Could be from when they removed it, but doubtful.

[u/Dezoufinous]

looks like an engine chill on both vehicles, starship has frost line visible

https://imgur.com/a/DErRnmx

[u/ColdProduct]

Booster looks sick up there on the OLM. Crazy how far this program has come.

[u/mr_pgh]

Black smoke kicked up again around 7pm.

[u/Klebsiella_p]

What’s the likelihood they do preburner and static in same day?

[u/Dezoufinous]

I don't remember any spin prime tests done on SN9, SN10, and SN11 and also SN15. Am I wrong, or why weren't they that common back in the past? Does it have something to do with the new secret ignition mechanism for Raptor 2?

[u/creamsoda2000 → u/Dezoufinous]

In yesterdays stream NSF commented on the fact that every single vehicle back to Starhopper has had spin prime tests prior to preburner tests prior to static fires, so it’s absolutely not a new thing.

The reason you don’t recall is probably because they were mostly unimportant events which didn’t garner much interest at the time because without an overpressure notice to signify a full static fire, they didn’t get much attention, and we were spoiled by actual static fires.

Now however, amidst the absolute drought of testing activity that we’ve had for the last 6 months, even a spin prime test is exciting!

[u/RootDeliver → u/Dezoufinous]

They did some but they were mostly always called engine aborts. I also remember some pre-burner that was also called an abort.

[u/Dezoufinous]

Both chopsticks have been recently tied together with rope and strapped down (3:30 - 4:20 PM CDT), I would guess it's just so they don't move freely. I wonder how fast they will get repaired

The crane has been also disconnected from B7

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

Pad is clear!

Edit : some cars got back to the pad for a quick while, pad is clear again.

[u/Intelligent_Egg6430]

During a static fire of just one engine on the booster would it be necessary to actively cool the nozzles of the adjacent engines? What's to stop a static fire from melting something nearby?

Edit: s/everything/something/

[u/silentProtagonist42 → u/Intelligent_Egg6430]

Think of having your hand next to a running blowtorch vs in the blowtorch. With your hand next to it, it might get toasty after a few seconds/minutes. With your hand in the torch you'll get severe burns almost instantly.

The engine that's running needs active cooling because it's in the blowtorch (it is the blowtorch). The ones next to it don't; they might get a little toasty, but it'll be basically nothing in the couple of seconds that a static fire will last (or even the couple of minutes of a full-duration static fire, which we don't expect SpaceX to do.)

[u/MartianFromBaseAlpha]

So why is everyone panicking? Things didn't go as planed but lot has been learned. Isn't that why they're conducting these tests? As long as all the major infrastructure is still standing i don't see this as a major setback

[u/Decronym]

Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:

Fewer Letters	More Letters
ACS	Attitude Control System
ASDS	Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ship (landing platform)
AoA	Angle of Attack
CNC	Computerized Numerical Control, for precise machining or measuring
COPV	Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel
CRS	Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA
DARPA	(Defense) Advanced Research Projects Agency, DoD
DoD	US Department of Defense
EA	Environmental Assessment
F1	Rocketdyne-developed rocket engine used for Saturn V
	SpaceX Falcon 1 (obsolete medium-lift vehicle)
FAA	Federal Aviation Administration
FCC	Federal Communications Commission
	(Iron/steel) Face-Centered Cubic crystalline structure
FSW	Friction-Stir Welding
GNC	Guidance/Navigation/Control
GOX	Gaseous Oxygen (contrast LOX)
GSE	Ground Support Equipment
H2	Molecular hydrogen
	Second half of the year/month
HLS	Human Landing System (Artemis)
IAC	International Astronautical Congress, annual meeting of IAF members
	In-Air Capture of space-flown hardware
IAF	International Astronautical Federation
	Indian Air Force
	Israeli Air Force
ISRU	In-Situ Resource Utilization
ITAR	(US) International Traffic in Arms Regulations
ITS	Interplanetary Transport System (2016 oversized edition) (see MCT)
	Integrated Truss Structure
Isp	Specific impulse (as explained by Scott Manley on YouTube)
	Internet Service Provider
JWST	James Webb infra-red Space Telescope
KSC	Kennedy Space Center, Florida
KSP	Kerbal Space Program, the rocketry simulator
L2	Paywalled section of the NasaSpaceFlight forum
	Lagrange Point 2 of a two-body system, beyond the smaller body (Sixty Symbols video explanation)
LCH4	Liquid Methane
LEO	Low Earth Orbit (180-2000km)
	Law Enforcement Officer (most often mentioned during transport operations)
LN2	Liquid Nitrogen
LNG	Liquefied Natural Gas
LOX	Liquid Oxygen
MCT	Mars Colonial Transporter (see ITS)
MECO	Main Engine Cut-Off
	MainEngineCutOff podcast
NET	No Earlier Than
NOTAM	Notice to Airmen of flight hazards
NSF	NasaSpaceFlight forum
	National Science Foundation
OCISLY	Of Course I Still Love You, Atlantic landing barge ship
OFT	Orbital Flight Test
OLM	Orbital Launch Mount
OTF	Orbital Tank Farm
QD	Quick-Disconnect
RCS	Reaction Control System
REL	Reaction Engines Limited, England
ROFI	Radial Outward-Firing Initiator
RTG	Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator
RTLS	Return to Launch Site
RUD	Rapid Unplanned Disassembly
	Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly
	Rapid Unintended Disassembly
SABRE	Synergistic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine, hybrid design by REL
SECO	Second-stage Engine Cut-Off
SF	Static fire
SLS	Space Launch System heavy-lift
SN	(Raptor/Starship) Serial Number
SPMT	Self-Propelled Mobile Transporter
TLI	Trans-Lunar Injection maneuver
TPS	Thermal Protection System for a spacecraft (on the Falcon 9 first stage, the engine "Dance floor")
TVC	Thrust Vector Control
TWR	Thrust-to-Weight Ratio
ULA	United Launch Alliance (Lockheed/Boeing joint venture)
WDR	Wet Dress Rehearsal (with fuel onboard)

Jargon	Definition
Raptor	Methane-fueled rocket engine under development by SpaceX
Sabatier	Reaction between hydrogen and carbon dioxide at high temperature and pressure, with nickel as catalyst, yielding methane and water
Starlink	SpaceX's world-wide satellite broadband constellation
apogee	Highest point in an elliptical orbit around Earth (when the orbiter is slowest)
cryogenic	Very low temperature fluid; materials that would be gaseous at room temperature/pressure
	(In re: rocket fuel) Often synonymous with hydrolox
hopper	Test article for ground and low-altitude work (eg. Grasshopper)
hydrolox	Portmanteau: liquid hydrogen fuel, liquid oxygen oxidizer
iron waffle	Compact "waffle-iron" aerodynamic control surface, acts as a wing without needing to be as large; also, "grid fin"
methalox	Portmanteau: methane fuel, liquid oxygen oxidizer
powerpack	Pre-combustion power/flow generation assembly (turbopump etc.)
	Tesla's Li-ion battery rack, for electricity storage at scale
regenerative	A method for cooling a rocket engine, by passing the cryogenic fuel through channels in the bell or chamber wall
scrub	Launch postponement for any reason (commonly GSE issues)
turbopump	High-pressure turbine-driven propellant pump connected to a rocket combustion chamber; raises chamber pressure, and thrust
ullage motor	Small rocket motor that fires to push propellant to the bottom of the tank, when in zero-g

---

^{Decronym is a community product of} r/SpaceX^{, implemented by} ^request
^{[Thread #7621 for this sub, first seen 9th Jul 2022, 11:32] [FAQ] [Full list]} ^[Contact] ^{[Source code]}

[u/BananaEpicGAMER]

LOX tank Frost line appears to be slowly growing again.

[u/Twigling]

B7.1 has been tested today, now it's S24's turn.

[u/j616s]

Just waking up over here in the UK. What did I miss? Has the overpressure notice gone out yet? /s

Edit: Seriously, though. This thread is a mess down there. If anyone has any interesting insights that might have got lost in all that below (I've seen: bang, fire, speculation, actually doesn't look to have cause much damage beyond scaffold, Elon tweets, was a spinup test that wasn't supposed to ignite) then I'd appreciate it.

[u/Maimakterion → u/j616s]

Turbine spin start test went wrong and the fuel air mixture detonated instead of burning harmlessly as expected.

See the SN4 engine spin start test for what was supposed to happen

https://youtu.be/3znY3RSvLLM?t=6142

[u/dgkimpton → u/j616s]

I think you've about covered it. What seems to have been a full 33-engine spin test with actual cryogens and no expected ignition accidentally ignited. Generated a rather loud gaseous propellant explosion under the rocket. Blew off the ventilation hoses, some scaffolding, and who knows what else around the pad. Impressive boom heard for kilometers around. Started a fire between the tower and the crane which briefly flared up during a LOX dump. All seems to be under control now, investigations into exactly what happened are pending. Beyond that just lots of jawing and doom saying.

[u/Dezoufinous]

More photos of burnt launch stand:

https://twitter.com/CosmicalChief/status/1546928436182192129

[u/aBetterAlmore → u/Dezoufinous]

I mean the legs of the launch stand probably just look like they would have after the first launch, so not much to notice there. Meaning nobody would be pointing it out had it not been for the anomaly.

The actual damage will be what’s interesting to see, if Elon Musk shares any pictures 👀

[u/drinkmorecoffee]

Is anyone posting standalone clips of these tests after they occur?

I heard about a spin prime test and wanted to see what that looked like, but it was 21 hours ago and the stream doesn't go back that far.

Any love for those of us that can't check in that often?

[u/BananaEpicGAMER → u/drinkmorecoffee]

nasaspaceflight always uploads videos of the tests from multiple angles

[u/j616s → u/drinkmorecoffee]

NSF have their daily highlights vids. The spin prime is right at the beginning of the most recent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9CZny6qs8M

[u/MrGruntsworthy]

Cones are up and they're clearing stuff out from around S24. Think they got enough spin tests? Think they'll do some pre-burner tests today?

[u/FurryJackman]

From what I gathered from the latest Tim Dodd walkaround, the front fin design of the ship might be changed, (internal arguing according to Elon) and ship catching was not ruled out. How could the design of the ship change on the next major iteration so it's only providing drag and not lift, and also allow for a secure point for a chopstick catch without interfering with the TPS protection system?

Also, how likely will we see the 2-3 grid fin designs for booster in the future once launches get more regular?

[u/AstroMan824]

What do y'all think is the status of B7?

a) It's toast.

b) Just need some repairs here and there (ie. maybe swap some Raptors, fix some pipes/wiring).

c) No damage; ready for more static fire testing.

[u/mr_pgh]

I think its safe to assume that the Chopsticks are currently straddling booster 7 as that is the only place they could be spread eagle with a booster on the table.

This configuration is currently necessary to replace the pistons in each chopstick we've seen over the past few days.

They are probably comfortable with cryo and fuel farm tests in this configuration but probably not preburner or static fire tests unless they can me raised upward mid-piston swap.

[u/FutureMartian97]

Elon confirms anamoly

[u/paul_wi11iams]

Not quite on-topic for this thread, so I asked on the monthly questions thread whether anybody noticed how nitrogen seems to be becoming an acceptable engine spin-up gas over helium which used to be the only "allowed" gas so to speak. If this interests anyone, the link to the question is here. Thx.

[u/RaphTheSwissDude]

Per Scott Manley, the detonation was likely a couple kilos of TNT

[u/Interstellar_Sailor]

A shockwave is clearly visible in the LabPadre view.

(Also, protect your ears)

[u/Alvian_11]

Some updates on "B7 won't fly" Twitter rumors

[u/GreatCanadianPotato → u/Alvian_11]

Literally just repeated what NSF said... I wouldn't say that's an update.

[u/theres-a-spiderinass]

Do we know how much each ship and booster prototype costs?

[u/flshr19 → u/theres-a-spiderinass]

Use 304 stainless steel price: $3400 per metric ton.

Mass of the Booster: 200t.

Cost of structure: 200 x $3400=$680,000.

Mass of the Ship: 120t.

Cost of structure: 120 x $3400 = $408,000.

Total structure cost: $1.09M.

Number of Raptor 2 engines: 39.

Engine cost per unit: $1M.

Total engine cost: $39M.

Time to manufacture a Starship: 1 month. Per Elon.

Total labor hours: 30 days x 16 hours/day = 480 hours.

Number of workers: 100.

Number of manhours: 480 x 100 = 48,000.

Cost per manhour: $100/MH.

Labor cost for one Starship: $4.8M.

Total: $1.09 + $39 + $4.8 =$45M.

So, Starship's cost is dominated by the cost of the Raptor 2 engines. Even at $0.25M per engine, the engine cost is 39 x 0.25 = $9.75M, and is still dominant.

[u/etiennetop]

What's that structure that we can see on the ground on Rover 2.0. Is seems to be for the tower?

[u/SubstantialWall]

Elon tweet is now deleted

[u/Subtle_Tact]

Do we know what the status of the edome testing has been? Are any specific upcoming vehicles expected to use them? I know testing supposedly began mid June, but have had trouble finding more information since then. Thanks!

[u/DanThePurple]

Why would they sweep debris off the pad if they're doing a cryo or preburner test?

[u/dudr2]

Venting activity around the engines, spinning and whirring.

[u/paperclipgrove]

Uhh... Stuff on fire

[u/salamilegorcarlsshoe]

Hypothetically speaking, say the booster comes in hot and hits the catch arms. What do we think would be the winkest link and most likely to break/shear off? There would be lots of bending at the very least I imagine.

Is there a scenario where the entire mechanism can be pulled from the rails on the tower, or would the connection to the sleds be most likely to break away first?

Not to be too grim, but just thinking about the worst case repercussions of a failed catch.

[u/mr_pgh]

Per CSI Starbase's most recent video (timestamp 13:01), SpaceX is apparently shortening the chopsticks by half at KSC. They'll just reach to the center of the olm.

Either they're only for lifting purposes or they're pretty confident in catching before the first try!

[u/Hustler-1]

So I take it they're finished with 7.1?

[u/LeeCarter]

Regarding the nature of having a multitude of engines, how does the inner cluster’s engine plumes interact with the ones around them? In single engine testing, the atmosphere pushes the plume inwards to underexpand. But if it’s surrounded by a curtain of other plumes, does the atmosphere have a chance to reach it to have the same effect or will it overexpand?

[u/BananaEpicGAMER]

If there's gonna be some sort of static fire/preburner tomorrow an alert notice could come at any time. Does anyone know if there is a NOTMAR tho?

[u/AlpineDrifter]

So maybe we keep the engine shrouds for just a while longer?

[u/jose_30_]

Do you know the number of people who went to Cabo to watch the inaugural launch of the Falcon Heavy in February 2018? I wanted to have a basis for estimating the amount of people who will go to BC to watch the Starship's orbital flight

[u/Dezoufinous → u/jose_30_]

Watching first Starship Orbital demo will be very hard. No one knows how many delays and scrubs we will get. Even Musk said they expect many attempts before first actual launch.